University of Alabama team welcomes Auburn University Hoverbowl Challenge

Monday

Apr 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama will confront Auburn University on Saturday — but not in a usual sports competition. Instead, a team of University of Alabama engineering students will compete against a team of Auburn engineering students in a hovercraft race at Lake Lurleen State Park. The competition is part of the University Hoverbowl Challenge. The race, hosted by the Hoverclub of America, will pit the UA Hoverteam against the Hovering Tigers. Amateur hovercraft racers from across North America will also compete. Racing starts at 10 a.m. and should end about 4 p.m. The event is free, but admission to the state park is $3.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama will confront Auburn University on Saturday — but not in a usual sports competition. Instead, a team of University of Alabama engineering students will compete against a team of Auburn engineering students in a hovercraft race at Lake Lurleen State Park. The competition is part of the University Hoverbowl Challenge. The race, hosted by the Hoverclub of America, will pit the UA Hoverteam against the Hovering Tigers. Amateur hovercraft racers from across North America will also compete. Racing starts at 10 a.m. and should end about 4 p.m. The event is free, but admission to the state park is $3.Hovercrafts are amphibious vehicles that ride on a small cushion of air capable of traveling over most relatively smooth surfaces. For the race at Lake Lurleen, the hovercrafts will glide over the lake and its shore.Saturday’s event will be the first race in the state sponsored by Hoverclub of America, a nonprofit organization that promotes the hover sport. The organization was formed when a group of five seniors studying aerospace engineering at UA decided to build a hovercraft for their senior design project, said Hisham Ali, senior aerospace student from Muscle Shoals.The students needed to test their hovercraft, so Ali contacted the Hoverclub about competing in a race, but races are usually held in the summer, too late for the students who needed to complete their project by the end of spring semester. Ali contacted peers at Auburn, which has had a hovercraft team for several years, about a race. The students worked with Hoverclub to host a race at Lake Lurleen after examining several sites around the state.“We put this race together to have a design event, but I’d like for this to become permanent,” Ali said.Kent Gano, racing director for the club, said the race is a way to promote the hover sport to college students. “I’m always behind students who want to do projects like this,” Gano said. “It’s a big event for the club.”The UA seniors designed and built their hovercraft from scratch using parts either bought or built by the team along with donated pieces. Using computer-aided design software and 3-D printing, the team designed the craft from what they learned studying in the College of Engineering, said Dillon Malone, a team member from Robertsdale.“We have no template, so we’re learning as we go,” Malone said. “What we know now, we taught ourselves or learned it through our education.”Support of the team is provided by the College of Engineering, the department of aerospace engineering and mechanics, the UA Student Government Association, the Alabama Space Grant Consortium, the Hoverclub of America, and the Design Industry Workroom along with support from individuals.For information about the race, visit the event website.